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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

All right, welcome to another week of the Daily Blade. This week we're gonna spend our entire time talking about this how to be great. I hope you want to be great. You know, greatness is a thing that I believe God put in us, and there's a right way and there's a wrong way to be great. And oftentimes the way we think about it in this world is all wrong because we buy into the systems and the values of this world. But there were some disciples that wanted to be great and we're going to talk about them in Matthew, chapter 20. And Jesus never scolds them for wanting to be great. He just completely flips it upside down and redefines what greatness is. Matthew, chapter 20, verse 20. I'll read through 28.

Speaker 2: 1:01

It says this and then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Jesus with her sons and kneeling before him. She asked him for something and he said to her what do you want? By the way, this is the same thing that he asked the disciples when they first began to kind of trail behind him at the seashore of Galilee. He says what do you want? And she says to him say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom. In other words, what she's asking for is would you please elevate my sons, would you make them great? Would you make them like? Senior VP of Jesus Incorporated Verse 22,. And Jesus answered you do not know what you were asking. Now, again, he doesn't scold her for her desire, he's just going to flip it upside down on what it means to be great. And so he says are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? And they said to him we are able. And he said to them you will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. The Greek word is doulos. Don't think transatlantic slavery, think a person that is working off a debt, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

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What we're going to spend our time on this entire week is we are going to talk about the five signs of greatness in the kingdom of God. Now, this is not an exhaustive list. This is just what I see from this text. As you notice, when you listen to me, do the Daily Blade. All I'm going to do is pick a text and unpack it.

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So here are five signs of greatness according to Jesus in Matthew, chapter 20. Number one, the first sign of greatness in the kingdom of God, is greatness is found in proximity to Jesus and not positional power. Let me say it again it is proximity to Jesus and not positional power that makes you great or makes you successful. And so, even though this mom has some kind of questionable motives or worldly intentions for her boys, here's what she knows. First of all, notice what she does. She bows before Jesus, that's right. She kneels before Jesus, submits and surrenders herself to Jesus, and what she is asking for is that her sons would be the closest to Jesus. You see, a great man in the kingdom of God rests in Jesus. A great man is a man that finds his identity first and foremost in Jesus.

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So let me ask you this question Is Jesus first in your life? Well, there's a couple of primary ways that you make sure that Jesus is first in your life. One of the things that Jesus says is where your treasury is there, your heart will be also. There's something's got to go first in your life, and if Jesus is not first, I do not care how you order your life, but the entire rest of your life will be out of order. And we find out in the Shema we've talked about this before that God is not just number one on your list, he is like the page on which you would make your list. Now, not only should Jesus be first in your finances, he should be first in everything, including your time.

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Let me tell you a part of the reason the Sabbath is a big deal to God is this Now, hebrews tells us that we ultimately find our Sabbath rest in Christ but a part of the reason it is important for you every single week, on the first day of the week, with the first of your energy to go to church, to gather with the saints, to worship Jesus, is to declare this ain't about me, this is all about you, and you want to orient your life in such a way where you find your purpose, you find your identity, you find your rest in Christ. A great man is not somebody that just simply accomplishes great things or has a great title, but a great man is the person that is kneeled before Jesus, making him, and him alone, number one in their life. Come back tomorrow. We'll talk more about how to be great.

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Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.